June 4
End: Franconia Notch
Miles: 16.3
Total: 3673.5
The other hikers got up and got going earlier than I. I might have joined them, but they were paying for a shuttle back to the trail, and I wasn’t too keen to do that. Instead Greg, the guy out for a couple of weeks, gave me a ride back to the trail.
Greg was a cool guy and I bid him the best of luck as he headed home and started a medical residency. I started up a nice long climb, and dealt with the rocky waterfall of a trail. I didn’t know when I passed over Mt. Wolf, but I descended, ascended, then descended again, passing Eliza Brook Shelter, which was a very nice shelter which I had planned on staying at days earlier.
I was behind my anticipated schedule, but was just happy to still be hiking despite the gloomy weather. It was a little cold, and rain sprinkled down periodically. Normally this would not bother me overly much, but I really needed good weather in the White Mountains.
After persevering through the Kinsman mountains, I descended to Lonesome Lake Hut, the first of the huts in the White Mountains. Thru-hikers can do work-for-stays there instead of paying big bucks like the tourists. I was thinking of staying, but all my other hiker friends were there and ready to leave, so I left with them.
Goose, Maverick, Groundhog, Bluegrass, Drop Out and I all hiked the few miles down to the road, and all did an athletic leap over rocks on the top of a small waterfall where a bridge was apparently missing.
I wanted to avoid paying for the Shuttle Connection to come and pick us up. Unfortunately we crossed under the interstate/US highway and ended up walking off the trail and down a paved side trail just to get to the U.S. highway at a point where it was not also an interstate. No one was on this portion of road.
I decided to start walking south in the hopes that I could hitch a ride. I had no luck with European tourists at a parking lot or with the few vehicles that passed me. Finally after walking a couple of miles the other hikers showed up with The Shuttle Connection and I joined them for five bucks, helping the racketeers make money hand over fist.
I hit the grocery store for more snack food, then walked back to Chet’s, where we all enjoyed being dry and eating. We got to play the Appalachian Trail board game before bed, which was quite amusing. A dry floor was not such a bad spot to sleep considering the weather outside, and I rested there for a second night in a row.
